Reminder appliance



T. B. BETTERTON REMINDER APPLIANCE Filed Jan. 15

Jan; 17, 1961 JNVENTOR. l0/V45 5E Tree-rou A l' TO 2 N EYS nited StatesPatent O Thomas Bradley Betterton, 368 -East ien Drive l,Cliattau109ga,Tenn.

Filed Jan. 1s, 1960, ser. 2@4 j 4 Claims. (el. 11e-,1am

The present invention relates to arerninder applianceA or device forcalling attention to specificv matters which require taking care of inthe future, such as the purchase of household necessities.

Previously proposed and presently-in use are devices intended to remindthe housekeeperA of certain items to be purchased at a future date. Few,if any,of such devices have been commercially successful or acceptable.to the purchasing public for many reasons. Generally, the de, viceshave consisted in a block` .or frame having `printed thereon a permanentlist of articles usually required from day to day in a household s uch.as .food articles` or the like, with a tab or signal slidab'le `in theblock or .frame opposite the name of each articlefrom .a hiddenor` nonindicating position to an exposed, `or indicating.position.y A personwhen preparing to set Vforth onlavtrip Vfor the` purpose of replenishing,the v4articles neededlmust copy the articles indicated on thedeviceonto a sheet of paper, taking the sheet of paper along with him totheshopping area, YNo saving of time has` resulted from the useof such adevice and this is one reason: whyV such. devices are used for briefperiods and then discarded.

Other reasons for the .non-acceptance., of the v,devices proposed by thepurchasing publie include the` expense of preparing and distributingsuchv devices.l Most house., keepers resort to the inexpensive. methodof.preparing a list of articles and writing .the same `on ,a sheetjofnotepaper immediately prior to setting. forth .ouille purchase. ing trip,rather than khave `a printed list involving some expense in thepreparation thereof.'

An object of the present invention is to provide a reminder appliancewhich may be manufactured at reasonable cost and in quantity suicient toattract the interest of a wholesaler or retailer for free distributionto the buying public as an advertising item.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a reminderappliance which lends itself to noting on a detachable list of articlescertain articles needed, with ease and facility and without the use ofany implement such as a pen or pencil.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a reminderappliance which may be employed to remind persons in various occupationsthe need to pay attention to specific matters requiring taking care ofin the future.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide areminderappliance which lends itself to support upon a vertical wall surfacesuch as a kitchen wall or the like in a position readily accessible toan occupant of a residence, one which may be manufactured so as to beattractive in appearance as well as utilitarian, one which s positive inoperation, and one which is highly eiective in action.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will befully apparent from the following description when taken in conjunctionwith the annexed drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the reminder device accord- 2,968,276Patented Jan. 17, 1961 rice ing ,to kthe present inventioma portion ofthe vuppermost sheet being torn away toshowthe embossing elements on thebacking member;

Figure 2 is a view taken on the line 2--2 of Figure l, showing thereminder yappliance secured to a vertical wall surface;

Figure 3 is a view taken .on the line 3.3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view showing how the uppermost sheetis embossed bythe application of a pressing force lto the sheet over theembossing or backing member, using a tooll provided by the presentinvention;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the portion of the padadjacent the upper end and the means for securing the same `to a wallsurface;

Figure 6 is an isometric fragmentary viewof a sheet torn from the padafter being embossed by the backing member; and

Figure 7 is a view .similar `to Figure 4,showing how the upper sheet isyembossed by the application of pres-V sure by a users finger.

Referring in greater detail to the drawing. in which like numeralsindicate like parts throughout the several views, the reminder applianceaccording to the present invention consists in an article of manufactureincluding a plurality of deformable sheets, as at 10 in Figure 2,arranged in the form of a pad, the pad being designated generally by thereference numeral 12.

As shown in Figures 1 and 6, each sheet 10 is provided with a list ofreminders or legends 14 on one face, the legends 14 in the presentinstance being articles of-household use.

The present invention provides a rigid embossing or backing member 16including opposed side edges having flanges 18 and 20 projectingforwardly therefrom, the member 16 being interposed between theoutermost and the next outermost sheet 10.

The member 16 is provided with a plurality of embossingV elementsprojecting forwardly from the one face of the backing member adjacentthe outermost sheet 10, the embossing elements being designated by thereference numeral 22 and being adjacent and inwardly of and spaced fromthe flanges 1S and 20, the elements being` arranged in two rows, asshown in dotted lines in Figure l.

Each row of embossing elements 22 underlies the part of the outermostsheet 10 to a side of the legends 14.

The pad 12 includes a foundation element 24, fabricated of cardboard orthe like, and assembled with the sheets 10 of the pad 12 in aconventional manner with suitable adhesive extending along the upperends of the sheets 10 and the upper end of the element 24.

The pad 12 is provided with a hole (Figures l, 2, and 5), as designatedby the numeral 26, to which may be received a nail 28 or othersupporting element having one end secured in a vertical wall surfacesuch as is shown in Figure 2 and designated by the reference numeral 30.

In Figure 4, a tool is shown for embossing the outermost sheet 10 withone of the elements 22 when it is desired to indicate on the outermostsheet 10 one of the legends 14 for future reference. The tool isdesignated by the reference numeral 32 and consists in a short length ofmagnetic material in the form of a cylinder having an opening 34therethrough of a size conformably shaped to tit over one of theembossing elements 22.

In use, the pad 12 is hung upon a nail 28 in a wall surface or othersupporting medium and the outermost sheet 10 is lifted from the pad 12and the member 16 is then inserted between the outermost sheet .1o andthe next outermost sheet with the embossing elements 22 projecting awayfrom the next outermost sheet. The

outermost sheet is then allowed to fall between the ianges 18 and 20.

Upon the application of pressure by the finger, as at 36 in Figure 7, orby the tool 32, the outermost sheetA 10 will be embossed outwardly as at38 in Figure 6, with a clearly discernible embossed mark opposite theselected legend 14 on the sheet 1l). Upon the removal of the outermostsheet 10 and upon later reference to such sheet, the embossed mark onthe sheet 10 will indi cate the articles which are to be purchased.

As a matter of convenience, a pencil 49 may be hung from a cord 42having one end secured to a part of the pad 12 at a convenient location.The pencil may be used to write upon the outermost sheet 10 otherarticles to be purchased as desired.

Additionally, the reminder appliance of the present invention providesspace on the upper end portions of the sheets 10 for advertising of asupplier such as the legend indicated by the reference numeral 44 inFigure 1. The space between the two rows of legends `14 is preferablyprinted with a calendar of the current months as at 46, adding to theadvertising feature of the appliance and enhancing its appearance andusefulness for the purpose intended.

The embossing or backing member 16 may be fabri cated of any rigid atmaterial such as sheet metal, plastic, or the like and the embossingelements 22 may be formed by dimpling the member 16 or casting thereonthe truncated dimples which readily and with facility emboss theoutermost sheet 10 when a pressing force is applied to the part of thesheet 10 in the direction of the adjacent embossing element 22.

What is claimed is:

l. In a reminder appliance, a rigid backing member including opposedside edges, a plurality of embossing elements projecting from one faceof said member, said embossing elements being arranged in a row alongand inwardly of and adjacent one of the side edges of said backingmember, and a deformable sheet being provided on one face with a list ofreminders, said sheet being arranged so as to overlie the one face ofsaid backing member with the part of the sheet to a side of the listadjacent the row of embossing elements, said sheet part being embossedupon application of a pressing force to said part in the direction of anadjacent embossing element.

t 2.Ina reminder appliance, a rigid backing member including opposedside edges, a plurality of embossing elements projecting from one faceof said member, said embossing elements being arranged in a row alongand inwardly of and adjacent each of said side edges of said backingmember, and a deformable sheet being provided on one face with a pair oflist of reminders, said sheet being arranged so as to overlie the oneface of said backing member with the part of the sheet on a side of eachof the lists adjacent a row of embossing elements, said sheet part beingembossed upon application of a pressing force to said part in thedirection of an adjacent embossing element.

3. As an article of manufacture, a reminder appliance including aplurality of deformable sheets arranged in the form of a pad, each sheetbeing provided with a list of reminders on one face, a rigid backingmember including opposed side edges interposed between the outermost andthe next outermost of said sheets, and a plurality of embossing elementsprojecting from the face of said backing member adjacent the outermostsheet, said embossing elements being arranged in a row along andinwardly of and adjacent one of the side edges of said backing memberwith said row of elements underlying the part of the outermost sheet toa side of the list, said sheet part being embossed upon application of apressing force to said part in the direction of an adjacent embossingelement.

4. As an article of manufacture, a reminder appliance including afoundation element, a plurolity of deformable sheets arranged inabutting superimposed relation positioned upon and secured to saidfoundation element to form a pad of deformable sheets, each sheet beingprovided with a list of reminders on one face, a rigid backing memberincluding opposed side edges interposed between the outermost and thenext outermost of said sheets, and a plurality of embossing elementsprojecting from the face of said backing member adjacent the outermostsheet, said embossing elements being arranged in a row along andinwardly of an adjacent one of the side edges of said backing memberwith said row of elements underlying the part of the outermost sheet toa side of the list, said sheet part being embossed upon application of apressing force to said part in the direction of an adjacent embossingelement.

No references cited.

